Archet

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Archet
Town
The Lord of the Rings Online - Archet map.jpg
Map of Archet from The Lord of the Rings Online
General Information
LocationCentral Eriador, to the east of Bree in Bree-land
TypeTown
InhabitantsMen, Hobbits

Archet was the most remote of the settlements of the Bree-land, set among the trees on the northern edge of the Chetwood, somewhat to the east of Bree itself.[1] A few hobbits lived there, but the inhabitants were predominantly Big Folk.

During the latter War of the Ring, there was a fight within Bree in which some Bree-landers were killed. After the fight the robbers took to hiding in the woods beyond Archet. When the hobbits and Gandalf returned to Bree after their journey south, Barliman Butterbur told them the news.[2]

Etymology

The name Archet is said to be an "English place-name of Celtic origin", sharing the element chet "wood" with Chetwood.[3] Mark T. Hooker has suggested that the element Ar- is a prefix meaning "nearby", found in several Welsh place-names. The meaning of Archet would thus be "near the woods", which Hooker notes describes its geographic position "on the edge of the Chetwood".[4]

Its form suggests a natural evolution of a Celtic word borrowed in the Old English times as Arcet, to the modern English.[5]

Archet is equivalent to the real-life Welsh name Argoed, with the same meaning "By the woods".[5]

Portrayals in Adaptations

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Archet is the settlement players start at if they are Hobbits or of the Race of Man. During the Introduction of the Shadows of Angmar it comes under attack by Blackwold brigands who burn many of the homes to the ground. The settlement is commanded by Captain Brackenbrook, a retired sell-sword, but command passes on to his son, Jon Brackenbrook, when his father is killed in the attack.

References